RUFC – First Games

Vital postee The Villager takes his turn today with his first match memory.

29th November 1980

Rotherham United 1 Newport County 0

Millmoor attendance 5,512

This game really was a tale of 2 strikers, as a former Millers favourite made his first return to Millmoor since his move back to Wales, and the current fans favourite scored his 8th goal during that month.

Birmingham born striker Dave Gwyther had started his Football League career in South Wales with Swansea City and after a spell at Halifax Town he signed for Rotherham United in February 1976 scoring 45 goals in 162 League games. On December 6th 1979 he returned to South Wales with Newport County and this game was his first back in front of his idolising Millers fans. The £40.000 transfer fee was also Newport’s record buy at the time. However the man who was making the news in November 1980 was Ronnie Moore in his first season for Rotherham who had scored 8 times in this month. The front cover of the Newport match day programme shows Ronnie holding 3 fingers up and holding a bottle of champagne in the other hand. This was given to him by Chairman Anton Johnson following his first Millers hat-trick in the previous home game against Blackpool. His other goals that month came against Millwall (2-1 pen) and Boston (2) in the FA Cup. His second half goal against Newport County was enough to give the Millers the 2 points and took his goal tally for the season to 15. The win also took Rotherham above Chesterfield into 3rd place in Division 3, just behind leaders Charlton and 2nd placed Barnsley.

Later that season Rotherham of course won the third division championship, but Newport had a memorable season as they reached the quarter finals of the European cup winners cup, only losing to eventual finalists Carl Zeiss Jena on a 3-2 aggregate.